People Tried A Drunk Driving Simulator & Realized Just How Insanely Dangerous It Is

With the number of drunk driving fatalities in America being so staggeringly high, prevention programs such as Driving Skills For Life are monumentally important. BuzzFeed recently allowed their employees to test out a particular program where people tried a drunk driving simulator for the first time. The results were comical, but extremely useful for those of us needing a refresher on why drunk driving is so horrible. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 9,967 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in 2014 alone.

If you are not lucky enough to live in a bigger city such as NYC or San Francisco where public transportation is readily available around the clock, driving becomes a necessary evil for going out on the weekends. That means you will need a designated driver (DD), who will begrudgingly abstain from drinking. Most friend groups rotate this DD responsibility within their members — but as with any assigned position, sh*t always happens. Sometimes people forget and alcohol becomes too tempting. More often than not, people make excuses and say that they will only have one beer the entire night. But, as well all know, one beer turns into two beers, and then shots, and then mixed drinks and then ... all of a sudden you're unfit to drive.

Drunk driving is a totally avoidable action that can be managed with better planning. All you have to do is set a contingency plan with your friends. Taxis, Ubers and public transportation are all options which can be split between your buds. Who says being responsible isn't possible or wallet-friendly?! For anyone who still isn't convinced, check out the video below that demonstrates just how difficult and scary drunk driving is in real life.

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Driving Skills For Life

This organization is one of the programs set up to prevent drunk driving.

It is not your typical driver's education course offered at local high schools across America. Here they show you exactly what happens to your body when you decide to drink and drive. They do so by first testing your motor skills.

They apply pads to restrictive areas on your body and make you walk a straight line as if you were pulled over and are taking a field sobriety test — usually administered by police officers who pull you over.

Most people had trouble even finding the white line because of their impaired vision due to the goggles on their face.

The Driving

Once they were done with their field sobriety exams, the subjects of this program had to take on the ultimate test — simulated drunk driving. As expected, it was much more difficult then sober driving.

It was almost impossible to see the bright orange cones in front of them. Drinking impairs your motor skills as very as your spacial skills. So the lesson you need to take away is this:

SO DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE. It not only puts your life, but the lives of others, in danger. Call an Uber.